Celtics know how to gut out a win

The Celtics are halfway to putting away these pesky Hawks for the season, but they're not going to go easily. This has been a series of shifting momentum.

TIM WEISBERG

The great poet John Keats once told us, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness."

Well, Keats didn't get to see the Boston Celtics' first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks (sadly, he died almost 200 years too soon), because if he did, he might have said the same thing about Boston's two ugly victories that have given them a 2-1 series lead heading into tonight's Game 4 at the Garden.

Those two wins might not be a joy forever, and their loveliness certainly won't increase over time — the offensive effort in Game 3 was particularly painful until late in the game and overtime — but they certainly won't pass into nothingness.

"Wasn't a pretty game, wasn't a pretty win," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said after Game 3. "But it was a win."

There were plenty of missed shots, a few blown defensive plays, and moments of futility. Just look at the inexplicably missed layup in an open lane by Rajon Rondo in overtime that seemed to characterize how hard it was for the Celtics to score Friday night. In a game in which they should have feasted on the depleted Hawks, the Celtics nearly found themselves devoured by Atlanta's intensity.

It wasn't the blowout Boston win that many expected, but life doesn't always work out the way it should. If it did, Adam Morrison wouldn't have two championship rings while Karl Malone and John Stockton have to stare at empty fingers for the rest of their lives.

"It wasn't pretty, but who said it has to be pretty?" Paul Pierce asked. "At the end of the day we have to win four games, and we've won two."

That's what matters, that the Celtics are halfway to putting away these pesky Hawks for the season, But they're not going to go easily, and having Josh Smith back for Game 4 is going to be a big boost for them tonight, just as Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen's return for the Celtics on Friday helped fuel them. This has been a series of shifting momentum, not only from game to game but from play to play.

This is where the Celtics' experience gives them a clear advantage over the younger, more athletic Hawks; Boston has been there before, and they know how to gut out wins.

"It's just experience, as far as us being in those situations a number of times," Pierce said. "We just try and find a way, and we did."

If Atlanta had pulled off the win Friday night, its confidence would have been through the roof heading into tonight. Instead, they may just be questioning whether they have enough to overcome the Celts.

"We definitely feel like we let one get away, that this was our chance to get one," Atlanta star Joe Johnson said after the game.

The Celtics may be back to less than full strength tonight, depending on how Ray Allen responds to his nearly 37 minutes of action (his first since April 10) and whether or not Avery Bradley's separated shoulder will keep him from playing. Boston is already having trouble spacing the floor against the Hawks and finding uncontested shots; losing their top two options at the two-guard could make it that much harder.

"That's playoff games," said Mickael Pietrus, who would have to shoulder some of the load if Allen or Bradley doesn't play, and who scored two 3-pointers Friday night for his first points of the series. "Sometimes they're going to take your stuff away, but you have to deal with it and get the best out of it."

So while there are no style points in the NBA, it would do a lot to demoralize these upstart Hawks if the Celtics could win a game a little more convincingly. But don't expect tonight to be much prettier; the Big 3 played a whole lot of minutes Friday night, and it's a safe bet none of them used their Saturday off to mow the lawn. Hopefully, they're rested up enough for tonight — but then again, they played ugly Friday night after having Wednesday and Thursday off as well, so maybe it wasn't just about rest.

"I was really worried going into overtime, just looking at Paul, Kevin and Rondo. They didn't look that fresh," Rivers said. "And honestly, I looked at the other team, and they looked pretty bad, too. So that made me feel a little bit better."

Tonight is a new night, a new game, another chance for the Celtics to play the way they want to play. Even if they can't, they've show that they have the resilience to overcome the odds, and that's something Keats might have found poetic as well.

Tim Weisberg covers the Boston Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com.